...i was 'laughed' at when i went to korea...

i did! i did visit korea.. when i was 13.. and i clearly remembered 2 korean girls giggling at me because they thought that wearing 'western clothes' with a hijab/tudung is funny. me? i merely smiled at them... haha. but what could i do? they don't speak english and they didn't understand it either......so how do i explain to them that im a Muslim and wearing the hijab is an act that i execute to strive for Allah's Pleasure?

but yeah, that was hmm let me see.. EIGHT years ago? nevertheless, the issue about the hijab keeps re-appearing... like how.. some people would think that those who wear the tudung look like tropical climate eskimoes.... or how they deem 'hijab-wearers (hw)' as 'traditional' and not 'modern'. what defines traditional and modern anyway? is it by the way a person dresses.. or how a person acts.. or a person's world-view.. heck even 'modern' is a volatile word to begin with.

sometimes, even, people wonder where in the world do 'hijab-wearers (hw)' get their clothes from? i mean, stores like Fox and Giordano n the likes of it dont usually sell long-sleeved tees... so they might think that (hw) gets clothes from a specialised shopping area or smtg... but u know what, u cant really blame them too.. cause ppl grow up with a conception of how western clothes should look like or worn as/ with. just look at today's advertisements... secondly, ppl have a set mind as to how certain groups of ppl should dress.. smtg like we imagine indigenous ppl with grass skirts n spears. but in fact, some already dresses ala 'modern' with shirts and ties or skirts etc...

honestly, people are in awe about a piece of cloth that covers the head....

that aside, alhamdulillah, i chanced upon an article this evening regarding the hijab. it's more of a reply letter to a woman who doesnt feel the need to put on the hijab.. because she felt that she was religious enough... the main issues in her letter were:

4) That when you practice putting on the hijab in front of the mirror, you feel like you are “looking at someone else” and you “feel that [you] lost [your] identity.”

Those four conclusions could be discussed and debated at length. Since you are an educated woman, we want to pose some questions for you to consider at your own leisure:

why is it that only your hair is not fitnah? Moreover, your hair is not fitnah for whom? How do you know what impact or affect your hair has on men?

Why do you believe that the hijab is meant to add anything to your behavior? Do you believe the hijab is supposed to make a person more religious? How? Shouldn’t it be the other way around; that instead of adding something to a woman’s behavior, wearing the hijab actually complements a woman’s struggle to be religious? Isn’t a religious person someone who would try to follow all the commandments of Allah and therefore would already be putting on the hijab anyway?

Just because some women who wear the hijab do not pray and set a bad image for Islam, should we do away with the hijab altogether or should we attempt to help those few women to improve themselves? When does it ever make sense to do away with the hijab, which promotes modesty and dignity, just because a minority behave badly while wearing it?

The main question we want to ask you is whether you actually believe that the hijab is obligatory for Muslim women who have reached the age of maturity? If you truly love Allah and His Messenger and consider yourself religious, then you will also obey Allah and His Messenger and strive endlessly to seek His pleasure through wholehearted and complete submission. You are so close to achieving that submission since you already do so much of what Allah has commanded us to do.

Isn’t it possible then that your own personal desire to maintain an image of who you think you are is overpowering your conscience, which is guiding you to consider wearing the hijab?

Of course it will look like you are looking at someone else when you wear the hijab, because you are fundamentally altering the shape of your head and face to some degree by covering up your hair! Nevertheless, you should not fear this new and different look because it is the look of one who, despite being fully educated and given the ability to choose, has chosen to submit to Allah Most High. Your identity is not lost, it has been enhanced, blessed, transformed into a being who, after years of struggle, has achieved peace and tranquility in her heart through complete and unflinching submission to Allah Most High.

for further reading, source: http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/fatwah_story.asp?service_id=192

“Non-alcoholic beer is haram because although it is claimed that it is alcohol free, it does have some alcohol in it. It was checked with beer manufacturers and confirmed that non-alcoholic beers do have a minimum amount of alcohol in them because during the manufacturing process, a small amount of alcohol is unavoidable. Also, the matter was checked from the legal perspective and found that U.S. law (and probably European law, too) allows beer manufacturers to claim that it is alcohol free if it contains less than one percent alcohol. It is wished that all Muslims will be aware of this fact and if they are not, then this fact should be made known through the proper educational and media channels.” (Source: www.islamicity.com)

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